Two years ago, both of my sister-in-laws had babies within a few months of each other. This year, it's happening again! My brother and his wife are having baby #3 in less than a month, but while we wait for that little one, Joel’s sister and her husband had baby #2 this past Tuesday! So, once they were home from the hospital on Thursday, Joel and I gathered a few things and walked over to meet our adorable new nephew, Lucas. Since time isn’t something that parents of newborns (and young children) have, I whipped up some mac and cheese, as well as some granola, so that they didn’t have to think when it came to meals for the first few days. As soon as Kim saw the bag of granola, she got excited and asked if it was her favorite (a recipe she had given me years ago that I had made for her when our first nephew was born). While this isn’t the same recipe, I thought it sounded delicious and knew they would all like it. Hopefully, I’ve introduced her to a new favorite granola. In all honesty, who couldn’t love a granola that tastes exactly like banana bread! It might just be my new favorite…in fact, as soon as we came home from meeting the baby, I mixed up a second batch for us to enjoy at home, too!

In a large bowl, mix the oats, walnuts, pecans, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and flax seed. In a small saucepan over medium heat, stir together the coconut oil, syrup, and vanilla until the oil has liquified. Remove from heat and whisk in the banana puree until well combined. Pour over the dry ingredients and mix well. Dump the mixture out onto a large baking sheet and spread it out into a single layer. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-28 minutes, or until the granola is visibly browned, tossing once during baking. Remove from the oven and cool completely on the baking sheet before breaking it up and storing in a jar. Granola should keep for a few weeks, but I guarantee it won’t last that long!